Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-43564

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 10 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the average crewing level has been at each fire station serving Inverclyde, in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-43467

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 10 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of participants from Inverclyde who have completed apprenticeships funded by the Scottish Government have remained in employment six months after completion, in the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-43407

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 10 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases scheduled to be heard at Greenock Sheriff Court were adjourned due to court capacity or scheduling issues, in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-43406

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 10 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the average time, in weeks, is between the first calling and the conclusion of summary criminal cases at Greenock Sheriff Court, in the most recent year for which data is available.

Question reference: S6W-43466

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 10 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in the last five years, how many businesses in Inverclyde that have received support from Scottish Enterprise ceased trading within two years of receiving that support.

Question reference: S6F-04670

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 09 February 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 February 2026

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will make further changes to the draft Budget 2026-27 published in January in relation to business rates, hospices and the care sector.

Question reference: S6W-43565

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much export revenue has originated from businesses in each local authority area, in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-43311

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 26 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 3 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the introduction in its draft Budget 2026-27 of retail hospitality and leisure sector rates relief, how much it would cost to remove the cap on what can be claimed by retail premises which are (a) Basic and (b) Intermediate ratepayers.

The cap of £110,000 per business on the annual value of non-domestic rates reduction that a business can benefit from thanks to retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) on its properties in Scotland is set across all properties that a business is liable for and that qualify for the relief. The cap is, therefore dependent on the combined value of RHL relief awarded to properties in these sectors. Because some businesses are liable for rates on properties across multiple sectors it is not possible to accurately estimate the cost of removing the relief’s cap on individual sectors or on properties liable to pay different rates.

The cost of removing the annual £110,000 per business cap on RHL relief overall in financial year 2026-27 is estimated at £4.0 million. This assumes a 70% take-up of the relief offered, which is consistent with the approach taken in official policy cost forecasts undertaken by the Scottish Fiscal Commission.

Local authorities are responsible for administering non-domestic rates including reliefs, and relief awards must be compatible with the Subsidy Control Act 2022, in particular the subsidy control requirements set out in the Act.

Question reference: S6W-43310

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 26 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 3 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many retail sector properties will be subject to the (a) Basic, (b) Intermediate and (c) Higher property rates in 2026-27, broken down by local authority area.

Draft rateable values for the 2026 revaluation were published on 30 November 2025 but may be subject to change. The final valuation roll will come into effect on 1 April 2026. The Scottish Government has published a report on changes in rateable values based on draft 2026 values on 13 January and will publish a further report once final valuations are available.

The draft budget will continue to support businesses and communities with a strong non-domestic rates offer for 2026-27 that decreases the Basic, Intermediate and Higher Property Rates in 2026-27.

Businesses and communities will be supported with a generous non-domestic rates relief package worth an estimated £864 million in 2026-27, including a Revaluation Transitional Relief that will protect those seeing the most significant increases in rateable values.

The following table shows the estimated number of retail properties on the non-domestic rates roll in 2026-27, broken down by rates and local authority area. This is based on draft valuations by Scottish Assessors. It is based on property classifications, as industry sector classifications are not available.

Table 1: Estimated number of retail properties in 2026-27, by rate and local authority

Local Authority Area	Basic Property Rate	Intermediate Property Rate	Higher Property Rate	Total
Aberdeen City	1771	86	137	1994
Aberdeenshire	1810	49	58	1917
Angus	1091	6	26	1123
Argyll and Bute	1145	17	19	1181
City of Edinburgh	4141	333	389	4863
Clackmannanshire	405	7	9	421
Dumfries and Galloway	1716	63	49	1828
Dundee City	1530	54	85	1669
East Ayrshire	1113	16	40	1169
East Dunbartonshire	622	15	32	669
East Lothian	694	12	20	726
East Renfrewshire	499	12	16	527
Falkirk	1220	25	47	1292
Fife	3147	104	109	3360
Glasgow City	6625	292	421	7338
Highland	2247	91	103	2441
Inverclyde	701	15	23	739
Midlothian	443	24	45	512
Moray	812	22	38	872
Na h-Eileanan Siar	290	1	4	295
North Ayrshire	1459	23	33	1515
North Lanarkshire	2360	45	105	2510
Orkney Islands	232	7	3	242
Perth and Kinross	1514	25	52	1591
Renfrewshire	1544	51	108	1703
Scottish Borders	1086	18	32	1136
Shetland Islands	219	2	2	223
South Ayrshire	1422	25	48	1495
South Lanarkshire	2268	53	104	2425
Stirling	885	36	36	957
West Dunbartonshire	733	29	33	795
West Lothian	1196	104	70	1370
Total	46940	1662	2296	50898

Source: Scottish Assessors’ Draft Valuation Roll for 2026, as at 11 December 2025

Property classifications used by the Scottish Assessors to describe the type of a property may not accurately reflect its use. For example, a property classified as a ‘shop’ may in fact be used to offer financial services.

Question reference: S6O-05438

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will reconsider its stated position of opposing the construction of new nuclear power stations in Scotland.